Jam
The Jam were an English mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes, and they incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock and R&B influences rather than rejecting them, placing The Jam at the forefront of the mod revival movement. They had 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982, including four number one hits. As of 2007, "That's Entertainment" and "Just Who Is the 5 O'Clock Hero?" remained the best-selling import singles of all time in the UK. They released one live album and six studio albums, the last of which, The Gift, hit number one on the UK album charts. When the group split up, their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100. The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk and new wave. The trio was known for its melodic pop songs, its distinctly English flavour and its mod image. The band launched the career of Paul Weller, who went on to form The Style Council and later had a successful solo career. Weller wrote and sang most of The Jam’s original compositions, and he played lead guitar, using a Rickenbacker. Bruce Foxton provided backing vocals and prominent basslines, which were the foundation of many of the band’s songs, including the hits "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight", "The Eton Rifles", "Going Underground" and "Town Called Malice"....(read more at Wikipedia) Links To Peel It is said that Peel played the LP This Is The Modern World in its entirety http://www.answers.com/topic/the-jam: however, no trace can be found of him doing so (although he did play three tracks from it on 27 October 1977) and this is probably another Internet urban legend. What is certain, however, is that he first saw them live at the Reading Festival in 1978 and confessed to being "a trifle disappointed", although he admits that he may have been expecting too much from them, and in any case Paul Weller was so unhappy with the band's sound he trashed some of the stage equipment after accusations of being "stitched up". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c61f57J35hY The band achieved fifteen Festive Fifty entries, although, since this was in the era of the all-time chart, most of them are with the same tracks. Interestingly, their first entry was with an album track, Away From The Numbers, in JP's self-chosen 1977 Festive Fifty. This is a medium-paced track in which Weller speaks of his desire not to be just like his hometown forebears, a theme he would return to (for example in A Town Called Malice). Another common Jam theme, that of suffering violent attacks (or as Peel put it, "getting thumped"), was subject matter for some of their most popular songs. The record Peel judged to be their best, Eton Rifles, just about scraped the top 20 in 1979 and dropped from view thereafter: conversely, Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (revived by Peel with a favourable comment during his stint on Jakki Brambles' show) charted five times and Going Underground was their only track to make the final all-time 50 in 2000. Peel applauded Weller's decision to dissolve the act in 1982 when they were still at the peak of their commercial success, even though Paul went on to form the Style Council, whose jazzy melodicism featured on David Jensen's shows rather than his: "In a way I'd rather people did that than banging out the same stuff. I thought it was brave of Paul Weller to split up The Jam and pursue other things." http://www.molara.co.uk/7696.html Festive Fifty Entries *1977 Festive Fifty: Away From The Numbers #48 *1978 Festive Fifty: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight #24 *1978 Festive Fifty: In the City #44 *1979 Festive Fifty: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight #4 *1979 Festive Fifty: Eton Rifles #19 *1979 Festive Fifty: Strange Town #27 *1980 Festive Fifty: Down in the Tube Station at Midnight #4 *1980 Festive Fifty: Going Underground #13 *1981 Festive Fifty: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight #13 *1981 Festive Fifty: Going Underground #23 *1982 Festive Fifty: A Town Called Malice #11 *1982 Festive Fifty: The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow) #39 *1982 Festive Fifty: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight ATFF#11 *1982 Festive Fifty: Going Underground ATFF#17 *2000 Festive Fifty: Going Underground ATFF#35 Live *24 February 1978: 'concert tape' (The Peel Sessions, p.219), details unknown Sessions Three sessions. All were released on The Jam At The BBC (2xCD, Universal, 2002). #1 & #2 only on 1977 - 40th Anniversary Box Set, disc 4 (5xCD, UMC, 2017) 1. Recorded: 1977-04-26. Transmitted: 02 May 1977. Repeated: 30 May 1977, 30 June 1977, 15 July 1980, 30 September 1986 *In The City / Art School / I've Changed My Address / Modern World 2. Recorded: 1977-07-19. Transmitted: 25 July 1977. Repeated: 24 August 1977 *All Around The World / London Girl / Bricks And Mortar / Carnaby Street 3. Recorded: 1979-10-29. Transmitted: 05 November 1979. Repeated: 03 December 1979, 20 December 1979, 07 April 1980, 25 August 1980 *Thick As Thieves / The Eton Rifles / Saturday's Kids / When You're Young Other Shows Played ;1977 *18 April 1977: 'In The City (7")' (Polydor) *25 April 1977: 'In The City (7")' (Polydor) *03 May 1977: five tracks from debut LP, 'In The City' (Polydor) *19 May 1977: 'Sounds From The Street (LP–In The City)' (Polydor) *21 July 1977: 'All Around The World (7")' (Polydor) *29 August 1977: All Around The World (7" – All Around The World) Polydor *06 October 1977: 'The Modern World (7")' (Polydor) *25 October 1977: 'Sweet Soul Music / Back In My Arms Again (7"-The Modern World)' (Polydor) *27 October 1977: three tracks from second LP, 'This Is The Modern World' (Polydor) *23 December 1977: Away From The Numbers (LP – In The City) Polydor FF#48 ;1978 *17 February 1978: News Of The World (7") Polydor *10 March 1978: 'News Of The World (7")' (Polydor) *27 July 1978: David Watts (single) Polydor *08 August 1978: David Watts (single) Polydor *25 August 1978: "A" Bomb In Wardour Street (7"- David Watts) Polydor (Pre-recorded show. JP mentions he will actually be “jumping about drunkenly" to The Jam at Reading at the time of the broadcast.) *28 August 1978: A Bomb On Wardour Street (7" - David Watts / "A" Bomb In Wardour Street) Polydor (JP confesses to being slightly disappointed by the Jam at Reading) *20 September 1978: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (7") Polydor POSP 8 *25 September 1978: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (single) Polydor *02 October 1978: The Place I Love (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *02 October 1978: 'A' Bomb On Wardour Street (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *02 October 1978: Down At The Tube Station At Midnight (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *02 October 1978: All Mod Cons (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *02 October 1978: To Be Someone (Didn't We Have A Nice Time) (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *02 October 1978: English Rose (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *02 October 1978: In The Crowd (album - All Mod Cons) Poydor POLD 5008 *26 December 1978: In The City (LP - In The City) Polydor''' FF#44''' *28 December 1978: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (7") Polydor FF'#24' ;1979 *22 February 1979: Strange Town (7") Polydor *09 May 1979: News Of The World (7”) Polydor *26 July 1979: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (single) Polydor *07 August 1979: When You're Young (single) Polydor *09 August 1979: When You’re Young (single) Polydor *13 August 1979: When You’re Young (single) Polydor *15 August 1979: When You’re Young (single) Polydor *18 August 1979 (BFBS): In The City (LP - In The City) Polydor *20 August 1979: When You’re Young (single) Polydor'' (JP says Jam singles seem to be getting “better and better,” after a low point about 18 months earlier.)'' *16 October 1979: Eton Rifles (single) Polydor (JP: “And we start the programme with a request for the debate and library of the Hopgarden at Eton. It’s the new single from the Jam.”) *18 October 1979: Eton Rifles (7 inch) Polydor (JP: “They seem to have an obsession about getting thumped. Why can't they write songs about kissing girls? Or boys, if it comes to that? Although I hope in my case it doesn't.”) *23 October 1979: Eton Rifles (single) Polydor *29 October 1979: (JP: “Right now, unless something quite disastrous has happened, the Jam should be recording a new session for us, their third, their first in a couple of years, which is very timely, because I think this is perhaps the best single they have ever made.”) Eton Rifles (single) Polydor *01 November 1979: Eton Rifles (single) Polydor *03 November 1979 (BFBS): The Eton Rifles (7") Polydor POSP 83 *06 November 1979: Little Boy Soldiers (LP – Setting Sons) Polydor *06 November 1979: Heatwave (LP – Setting Sons) Polydor *12 November 1979: Heatwave (LP - Setting Sons) Polydor *15 November 1979: Thick As Thieves (LP - Setting Sons) Polydor *19 November 1979: Thick As Thieves (LP - Setting Sons) Polydor *27 November 1979: Saturday's Kids (LP - Settings Sons) Polydor *01 December 1979 (BFBS): Thick As Thieves (album - Settings Sons) Polydor POLD 5028 *26 December 1979: Strange Town (7 Inch) Polydor FF'#27' (JP: "Almost every track that the Jam have recorded received some votes in the Festive Fifty voting, thus emphasing, I suppose, the fact that in terms of the Festive Fifty a band with only a few popular records is liable to benefit at the expense of a band with a stack of releases.") *27 December 1979: Eton Rifles (7 Inch) (Polydor) FF#19 ;1980 *01 January 1980: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (7") Polydor''' FF#4''' *05 January 1980 (BFBS): Strange Town (7") Polydor POSP 34 *26 February 1980: Going Underground (7") Polydor (JP: “a new single from the Jam”) *27 February 1980: Going Underground (7") Polydor *03 March 1980: Going Underground (7") Polydor *08 March 1980 (BFBS): Going Underground (7") Polydor POSP 11 *10 March 1980: The Dreams Of Children (7” – Going Underground) Polydor *12 March 1980: Away From The Numbers/This Is The Modern World (live) (single) Polydor (limited edition bonus single issued with Going Underground) *13 March 1980: Going Underground (single) Polydor *15 March 1980 (BFBS): The Dreams Of Children (7” - Going Underground) Polydor POSP 113 *18 March 1980: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (live) ('Going Underground' 2 x 7" single) Polydor *21 April 1980: Slow Down (album - In The City) Polydor 2383 447 *27 May 1980: (Peel has been away in the Netherlands doing the Pink Pop Festival again. He cites the Specials, the Jam and Joe Jackson at Pink Pop as being very good.) *19 May 1980: Batman Theme (LP - In The City) Polydor *04 August 1980: Start! (7") Polydor 2059 266 (JP: 'Very Jam, very Taxman.') *09 August 1980 (BFBS): Start! (7") Polydor 2059 266 *12 August 1980: Start! (7") Polydor 2059 266 *16 August 1980 (BFBS): Start! (7") Polydor 2059 266 *04 November 1980: Pretty Green (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *13 November 1980 (BFBS): Pretty Green (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *15 November 1980 (BFBS): Dream Time (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *17 November 1980: Set The House Ablaze (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *18 November 1980: Monday (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *22 November 1980 (BFBS): Monday (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *22 November 1980 (BFBS): Set The House Ablaze (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *29 November 1980 (BFBS): Music For The Last Couple (album - Sound Affects) Polydor POLD 5035 *29 December 1980: Going Underground" (7" single) Polydor FF'#13' *30 December 1980: Down in the Tube Station At Midnight (7") Polydor''' #4''' ;1981 *01 March 1981 (BFBS): Away From My Numbers (album - In The City) Polydor 2383 447 *12 May 1981: (JP: “Proud to be the last programme to bring you the new Jam single.”) ''Funeral Pyre (7": Funeral Pyre) Polydor *28 May 1981: Disguises *28 June 1981 (BFBS): Strange Town *28 December 1981: Going Underground (7 inch) Polydor' FF#23''' *29 December 1981: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (7 inch) Polydor''' FF#13''' ;1982 *18 February 1982: Town Called Malice (7" - Town Called Malice / Precious) Polydor POSP 400 *01 March 1982: Ghosts (album - The Gift) Polydor POLD 5055 *04 March 1982 (BBC World Service): Town Called Malice (live) (12" - Town Called Malice / Precious) Polydor *31 August 1982: Fever (7" - The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow)) Polydor POSP 505 *27 October 1982: Here Comes The Weekend (album - This Is The Modern World) Polydor 2383 475 *15 November 1982: Move On Up (2x7" - Beat Surrender EP) Polydor *25 November 1982: Beat Surrender (EP - Beat Surrender) Polydor *30 November 1982: In The City / All Mod Cons / To Be Someone / It's Too Bad (LP - Dig The New Breed) Polydor *30 November 1982: Going Underground / Dreams Of Children / That's Entertainment (LP - Dig The New Breed) Polydor *02 December 1982: Private Hell (LP - Dig The New Breed) Polydor *20 December 1982: The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had To Swallow) (7 inch) Polydor FF#39 *27 December 1982: Going Underground (7 inch) Polydor ATFF#17 *28 December 1982: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (7 inch) Polydor ATFF#11 *28 December 1982: A Town Called Malice (7 inch) Polydor FF#11 (JP: “Must say, I admire Paul Weller's courage in breaking the group up at this stage.”) ;1990 *11 November 1990: In The City (CD - The Peel Sessions) Strange Fruit ;1992 *03 May 1992 (BFBS): And Your Bird Can Sing (album - Extras) Polydor ;1993 *05 April 1993 (John Peel Is Jakki Brambles): Down In The Tube Station At Midnight (JP: “You keep reading that they're going to get back together again and I think they should, frankly, if you can write stuff as good as that in 1978 you can write it as well in 1993 I think.”) ;1996 *01 July 1996: Modern World (session) (John Peel's Classic Sessions) ;2000 *12 January 2000: Going Underground (7")' (Polydor) ATFF#35 ;2004 *28 December 2004 (Rob Da Bank): 'Going Underground (CD-The Sound Of The Jam)' (Polydor) ;Other *Rebel Yell: Down In The Tube Station At Midnight Top Of The Pops *01 July 1982 (TOTP): Just Who Is The 5 O'Clock Hero (13) (live clip) *25 December 1982 (TOTP): Town Called Malice (video clip) See Also *Festive Fifty Session Broadcasts *Strange Fruit *Stiff Little Fingers *1979 Top Twenty Albums *UK Singles Chart Number Ones External Links *Wikipedia *Teenage Kicks (blog): Do You Want Jam On It Category:Artists Category:Featured Articles